Our annual Contest Calendar might be the one strongest factor we publish all yr. Academics inform us they plan their courses round our challenges, and tens of hundreds of youngsters across the globe take part by creating narratives, evaluations, movies, opinion items, podcasts, illustrations, photograph essays and extra.
For us, these contests are an honor and a pleasure to host. We love studying from younger individuals — about what strikes them and makes them mad, what intrigues and confuses and delights and defines them.
This yr, we’re bringing again some latest and longtime favorites, in addition to introducing just a few new challenges.
To start, we’ve two choices this fall in response to the U.S. election, although college students across the globe are welcome. In September, we open with a collection of particular boards that invite youngsters to have considerate conversations about their civic and political identities, values and beliefs. Then, in the event that they select, they will work alone or with others to make one thing in response — whether or not in writing, video, audio or visible artwork.
Within the spring, we’re providing “My Checklist,” a twist on our long-running overview contest. This time, college students can select any assortment of three to 5 artworks or tradition to group not directly after which inform us why we must always — or shouldn’t — verify them out.
We’ll be posting the complete guidelines and tips for every contest right here when it opens. however for now you’ll be able to have a look at the associated assets we’ve offered, in addition to final yr’s guidelines, which is able to largely stay the identical for our returning contests. And don’t neglect we’ve a full yearlong writing curriculum to assist help this work.
As all the time, we hope these contests encourage college students to attempt alternative ways of considering and creating, experimenting with each what they need to say and the way they need to say it.
For those who want some encouragement to take part, we advocate three items. College students may begin with “‘I Was Sufficient’: How I Stopped Attempting to Sound Sensible and Discovered My Real Writing Voice,” by a teen who displays on how our competitions have helped her develop. If you’re an educator, our reader-submitted “10 Causes to Ship Pupil Work Out Into the World” is perhaps compelling, as may this essay, revealed on EdSurge by a instructor in a profession and technical schooling program who makes use of our contests to assist design studying round “genuine points, issues and concepts.”
To obtain a PDF model of this contest calendar, click on right here. Questions? Scroll to the underside of this put up to study extra, write to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com or put up a remark right here.
Sept.-Oct.
Replicate in your civic and political values, beliefs and id and share your views on present points by collaborating in our particular dialogue boards for youngsters.
Run very similar to our 2020 Civil Dialog Problem, these boards are accessible methods to assist college students from across the nation and the world have wealthy discussions about vital points.
Listed here are the guidelines and tips for this yr’s Pupil Dialog Discussion board. The 5 themes, together with dates when every discussion board will open for remark, are:
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Discussion board 1 | Id: Who’re you, and the way does that id inform your political views and values? (Open)
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Discussion board 2 | Conversations Throughout Divides: What experiences have you ever had in speaking to those that could not agree with you — whether or not at school, with family and friends, or on-line? What has been useful? What has been exhausting? Why do these conversations matter? (Open)
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Discussion board 3 | The Points: What points matter to you most? How do they connect with your life and the lives of these you care about? (Open)
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Discussion board 4 | Data and Disinformation: The place do you get your details about present occasions? How do you assume these sources have an effect on your understanding of our world? (Open)
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Discussion board 5 | Hope for the Future: What are you optimistic about? What may your technology do higher than people who got here earlier than it? (Open)
Oct. 2-Nov. 4
Select any of the questions that we’ve posed within the Election 2024 Pupil Dialog Discussion board (see above) and make one thing in response — whether or not in writing, visible artwork, video or audio. You possibly can work alone or with others, and you’ll create nearly something you want.
As an example, you might make …
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A poem, a story essay or a comic book about who you’re and the way that impacts your political views
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A podcast, a video or a play about having conversations with those that assume in another way from you about a difficulty — or a listing of suggestions for the right way to have these conversations productively
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An opinion essay, a drawing or a track about a difficulty you care about
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An infographic, a diary entry or a video concerning the information and political data you devour and the way it impacts you
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{A photograph}, a letter or a collage that expresses what you’re hopeful about
Listed here are the principles and tips, and here’s a information that features 4 steps to determining what you need to say and the way you want to say it, with inspiration from 31 teen-created works throughout genres.
Replace, Jan. 15: Winners have been introduced!
Nov. 6-Dec. 4, 2024
What story out of your life are you able to inform in simply 100 phrases? Based mostly on the storytelling kind popularized by Trendy Love’s Tiny Love Tales, we invite you to put in writing a miniature private narrative a couple of significant life expertise.
Listed here are the principles and tips. For extra inspiration, learn the work of final yr’s winners, or observe this step-by-step information for collaborating.
Replace, Feb. 13: Winners have been introduced!
Dec. 4, 2024-Jan. 15, 2025
Impressed by the immersive New York Instances collection The place We Are, which focuses on younger individuals and the areas the place they create neighborhood, we invite college students to work alone or with others to make photograph essays concerning the communities that curiosity them.
You possibly can doc any type of offline neighborhood you want and have individuals of any age. Then inform us about it by sending six to eight photographs with captions and a brief introduction.
Listed here are the principles and tips. For extra inspiration, see the work of final yr’s winners, or observe this step-by-step information for collaborating.
Jan. 15-Feb. 12, 2025
Three Novels That Have Nice Teenage Characters
4 Sci-Fi Motion pictures That Even Folks Who Hate Sci-Fi Will Love
The 5 Worst Quick Meals Sandwiches
Select any assortment of three to 5 artworks or tradition to group not directly, after which inform us, in 600 phrases or fewer, why we must always — or shouldn’t — verify them out.
You possibly can work alone or with others and might make lists about any class of artistic expression The Instances covers, whether or not books, films, eating places, albums, theatrical productions, video video games, dances, TV reveals, structure or artwork exhibitions.
Listed here are the principles and tips and right here is a step-by-step information for collaborating.
Feb. 12-March 12, 2025
Following the instance of the long-running Tip column from The New York Instances Journal, write a brief description of the right way to do (nearly) any activity in 400 phrases or fewer.
So long as your matter is acceptable for a household newspaper, you’ll be able to clarify no matter you want, together with duties that Tip has already taken on. However you will need to discover, interview and quote one skilled on the topic all through your piece.
Listed here are the principles and tips. For extra inspiration, learn the work of final yr’s winners, or observe this step-by-step information for collaborating.
March 12-April 16, 2025
What bothers you? Who might do one thing about it?
Within the custom of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail and the open letters you could find within the Opinion part of The New York Instances, we invite you to put in writing a letter of protest or enchantment, in 500 phrases or fewer, to an individual or group who could make a change on a difficulty that issues to you. Whereas your letter ought to tackle a selected viewers, its actual objective is to be learn by — and to affect — most people.
Listed here are the principles and tips. For extra inspiration, learn the work of final yr’s winners, or observe this step-by-step information for collaborating.
April 16-Might 14, 2025
Make an unique podcast of 5 minutes or much less that informs or entertains listeners. You possibly can create a podcast on any matter you want in any format you want, whether or not that’s an interview with an skilled, an off-the-cuff dialog with a pal, a journalistic investigation, a fictional story or anything you’ll be able to consider.
Listed here are the principles and tips. For inspiration, hearken to the work of previous winners and go to the associated writing unit.
June 6-Aug. 15, 2025
Each week for 10 weeks through the summer season we’ll be asking: What received your consideration in The Instances, and why? Every week college students can enter by submitting a brief written response — or they will make a video as much as 90 seconds lengthy.
Listed here are extra particulars:
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On the day every contest begins, we are going to add a hyperlink right here, on this web page, to the competition announcement so college students can submit entries. We may also hyperlink to all associated supplies as they’re revealed.
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The work college students ship us is all the time thought of by our workers and different consultants, together with Instances journalists, in addition to educators from associate organizations or skilled practitioners in a associated discipline. Judging for our contests is blind. Meaning we see solely the entries themselves, not scholar names or faculties, after we make our selections.
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We announce finalists about two months after a contest has closed and winners get their work revealed on The Studying Community. We normally have a good time dozens of winners, runners-up and honorable mentions every time.
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College students’ entries should be unique and basically their very own. They need to not be plagiarized, written by another person or generated by synthetic intelligence. Additionally they shouldn’t have been revealed elsewhere on the time of submission, together with in a college newspaper, on a radio station’s web site or in a literary journal.
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Anybody who submits to our contests retains the copyright for the work, even after we publish it.
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College students can enter as many contests as they need, however they will submit just one entry per contest. Our Summer season Studying Contest, nevertheless, provides a recent alternative to submit every week for 10 weeks.
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Entries for many contests should be accompanied by an announcement describing your course of. We’re excited about the way you made what you made, and your feedback assist us enhance our choices.
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All of our contests are open to college students world wide ages 13 to 19 who’re in center faculty or highschool. Age is set by the scholar’s age on the time of submission. Faculty college students can not submit entries. Nevertheless, highschool college students (together with highschool postgraduate college students) who’re taking a number of faculty courses can take part. College students attending their first yr of a two-year CEGEP in Quebec may take part. As well as, college students ages 19 or beneath who’ve accomplished highschool however are taking a spot yr or are in any other case not enrolled in faculty can take part. Be aware: The kids and stepchildren of New York Instances staff should not eligible to enter these contests, nor are college students who dwell in the identical family as these staff.
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We will’t wait to see what you’ll create this yr!
